Intermediate conveyer for sugar-cane mills.



A. F. EWART.

INTERMEDIATE CONVEYER FOR SUGAR CANE MILLS. APPLICATION FILED FEBJZI. Isls.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

L Y. l,

, A. F`. EwART.

INTERMEDIATE CONVEYER FOR SUGAR CANE MILLS. APPLICATION FILED 1:11.21. 1915.

1,169,946. Petented Feb. 1, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wzeseses.

A. F, EWART.

mrmmenma coNvEYER FOR suc/m CANE MILLS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27 1915. I 1,] 699946 Patented Feb. l, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WZ'ZeSse] Mmm ENITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

vARTHUR FREDERICK EWART, or HONOLULU, TERRITORY OFV HAWAII, AssIeNoR To HONOLULU IRON WORKS COMPANY, OF HONOLULU, TERRITORY OF HAWAII, A CORPORATION OF THE TERRITORY OF HAWAII.

INTERMEDIATE CONVEYER FOR SUGAR-CANE MILLS.

Application led February 27, 1915.

To all whom t may concern ,Be it known that I, ARTHUR FREDERICK EWART, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of the city and county of Honolulu and Territory of Hawaii, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Intermediate Conveyers for Sugar-Cane Mills; and I do hereby declare the follo-wing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. I This invention relates to improvements i intermediate conveyei's employed between sugar-cane `mills for moving the crushed cane or bagasse discharged Afrom one mill v and feeding it to the succeeding mill.

The present invention is in the nature of improvements on the removable intermediate conveyer described in my application for United States Letters Patent filed Oct.

that the Saidmeans will be floating and' i will hereinafter moie fully appear, the in,

. 21, 1914, as Serial No. 867,890.

While retaining some of the salient fea tures therein described, the object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of such a conveyor whereby its remov lable trough will. be approximately level, in

order that the means for aiding the movement of the blanket of bagasse through the .trough will also act as a force feeder.

Another object is to arrange said means for aiding the movement of the blanket so automatically accommodate itself to the various thicknesses of the blanket of bagasse passing through the trough.

' With these and other objects in view, as

Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation approximately through the middle longitudinally of any intermediate conveyer embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is laV side elevation of the same conveyer when detached from the mills. Fig. 3 is a plan view showingl diagi'ammatica'lly the shafts and the driving arrangement lof the same conveyer.

Referring to thedrawings. the bagasse specification ef Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916'.

Serial No. 10,951.

discharged from the three-roller sugar-cane mill A is to be conveyed and fed to the succeeding mill B. The trough C between the mills A and B is removable, preferably water tight, and substantially horizontal. The trough C' is composed of the bottom plate 5 secured to the angles 6 and 7 riveted to the inside of the side plates 8 and 9 above their lower edges respectively. The angles l0 are attached to the upper edges of the side plates 8 and 9 transversely of the trough C, to form separators. The short piece of angle 11 secured to each of the side plates 8 and 9 is adapted to rest on a similar anglo 12 attached to each of the cheeks of the mill A. The angles 13 secured to the side plates 8 and 9, near the rear end of the trough C, are adapted to rest directly on the inclined portion of the cheeks of the mill B. The rear ends of the side plates 8 and 9 are bolted by the bolts 14 to the feed side plates 15 of the mill B. l

The shaft 16 is journaled in the boxes 17 adapted to slide vertically in the frames 18.

secured to the side plates 8 and 9 respectively rearward of the angles 11. The shaft 16 passes through a hole 19 in each of the said side plates. The springs 20 normally hold the boxes 17 in their lowest position in the frames' 18. The shaft 21 is journaled in the boxes 22 which are adjustably attached to the rear ends of the bars 23. The forward ends of the bars 23 are provided with eyes 23n which surround the shaft 16, so that said bars may swing on the shaft 16 as a pivot. 'lhe sprockets-24 and 25 are se-.

cured to the shafts 16 and 21 respectively, over which the endless chains or link belts 26 are passed. The angles 27 are secured at intervals to these strands of link belts I26 transversely of the trough C, so that the angles 27 attached to the lower strands of the belts 26 are adapted to engage the blanket of bagasse in the trough C.

The shaft 28 is journaled in the boxes 29 adapted to slide in the frames 30 secured to the side plates 8 and 9 respectively, said vshaft passing through holes in the side plates. The shaft 28 is also j ournaled in the boxes 31 attached to the bars 23, and is provided' with the sprockets 32 and 33. The upper strands -of the link belts 26 engage the sprockets 32.

The driving sprocket 34 is keyed to the top shaft of the mill B. The short shaft 35, provided with the sprockets 8G and 37, is journaled in the boxes 3S attached to the cheek of the mill B. The link belts 39 and 40 connect the sprockets 34 with 36 and 33 with 37 respectively. The sprocket 34 in revolving with the top roll of mill B thus revolves the shaft 35, which in turn revolves the shaft28, causing the link belts 26 with the angles 27 attached thereto to travel in the direction as indicated by arrows, Fig. 1, and at the same speed asthat of the periphery of the discharge roll of mill A.

Idler pulleys 41 secured to the shaft 42 journaled in the boxes 43 attached to the bars 23 may be employed to depress the lower strands of the belts 26.

The lower scraper plate 44 of mill A is secured to the scraper bar 45 adapted to turn in the brackets 46 attached to the side plates 8 and 9 respectively. The toe of the scraper plate 44 engages the discharge roll of mill A, the pressure being applied by the levers 47 and turnbuckles 4S in the usual manner. The rear edge of the scraper plate 44 overlaps the forward end of the bottom plate 5 of the trough C.

Maceration liquid may be applied to the bagasse discharged from the mill A by means of the pipes 49 and 50 which are provided with holes above the forward end of the trough C. Maceration may also be applied underneath the blanket of bagasse, while passing over the forward end of the bottom plate 5, through the pipe 51, screwed into the casting 52 attached to the under side of said plate, and through holes 53 in said plate above the channel 52a in said casting.

In operation, the crushed cane or bagasse discharged from the mill A 1s pushed rearward over the lower scraper plate 41 into the trough C, whereupon the flights 27, moving at the same speed as that of the blanket of bagasse discharged from mill A, engage this layer or blanket of bagasse and aid its movement along through said trough and force the blanket between the top and feed rollers of mill B. The arrangement' of means for aiding or propelling the blanket of bagasse through the trough C is such that it automatically accommodates itself to the varying thicknesses of the blanket, for the forward end has a vertical movement, the

boxes 17 sliding in the frames 18 against the action of the springs 20, Aand the rear end has a swinging movement, the bars 23 turning on the shaft 16 as a pivot. .The depressing of the lower strands of the belts 26, by the rollers 41 on the idler shaft 42, also permits the flights 27 to more gradually be withdrawn and leave the blanket of bagasse in passing around the sprockets 25. .In the event of the mill B not taking the feed of theJ blanket as rapidly as the blanket is moved in the trough C, thus causing the bagasse to be retarded inthe trough C in front of said mill, the propelling or aiding meansis automatically lifted by the accumulating bagasse, the same swinging on the shaft 16 as a pivot.

Maceration may be applied both above and below the blanket of bagasse as discharged from the mill A, as previously described. As the `trough C is made water tight, the

leakage of juice or of maceration liquid is prevented.

By disconnecting the driving link belt 40, the maceration pipes 49 50 and 51, and the turnbuckles 48 from the levers 47, and by removing the bolts 14, the conveyer is detached from the mills A and B and may then be easily lifted and removed, for example,

by means of ropes attached to the angleA separators 10.

I claim:

An intermediate `carrier for sugar-cane mills, comprising a trough adapted to support the bagasse, and an endless conveyer associated with said trough, one run of which is adapted to engage the top of the blanket of bagasse to forcethe feed toward the rearward mill, onev end of said conveyer being mounted for substantially vertical raising andllowering movements and the other end thereof being mounted for movementsin an arc of a circle about the first-named end as a center.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR FREDERICK EwART.

Witnesses:

JAMES F. BERRY Jr., RoBT. J. PRATT. 

